1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates generally to a cabinet for dispensing rolled sanitary paper products, and more particularly, to a dispensing cabinet in which a roll of sanitary paper is embossed as it is dispensed.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.
Rolled sanitary paper products such as paper toweling and toilet tissue are commonly dispensed from cabinets in public washrooms. When economy is primary consideration, a relatively smooth, flat paper is wound very tightly into a roll to maximize the length of paper for a given diameter of the roll. By maximizing the length of paper on the roll, the roll generally lasts longer which increases the time between roll replacement in the cabinet. The cabinet may also contain a second roll of paper that automatically begins feeding as the first roll becomes fully deplete which further increases the time period from one refill operation to the next. When economy is a primary consideration, it is also common to use lower graded, such as unbleached or light brightness papers in the dispensing cabinets. Such economy rolled paper product can generally be characterized as dense, stiff and having limited absorbency when compared to higher quality sanitary paper products.
When economy is not a primary consideration and it is desired to provide a higher quality rolled sanitary paper product in the dispensing cabinet, the usual approach has been to soften the paper by pre-treating it. Usually this pre-treatment is accomplished by embossing the paper sheets prior to winding it on the roll. As used in this specification, the term embossing means raising the surface of the paper sheet into bosses or protuberances in such a manner that the length of the embossed sheet is substantially the same as the length of the sheet prior to embossing. One short coming of embossing paper prior to winding it on a roll is that the winding operation is counterproductive to embossing. In other words, the act of winding the paper on the rolls negates much of the benefit gained by embossing. The winding operation tends to compress the bosses formed in the paper with the result that the dispensed paper has less bulk and softness and potentially less absorbency then it had prior to the winding operation. If, on the other hand, the embossed paper is wound loosely on the roll in order to retain the bulk and softness gained from the embossing process, the length of the paper wound on the roll will be substantially reduced and the dispensing cabinet would therefore require much more frequent servicing.
A further shortcoming of dispensing an embossed paper, particularly the dispensing of embossed paper toweling, is the fact that in most rolled towel cabinets, the paper toweling is normally dispensed compressively by fastening the toweling through a nip formed by two feed rolls. U.S. Pat. No. 1,224,224 to Shelley is representative of such a dispensing cabinet. This application of compressive force to the embossed paper also tends to diminish the benefits gained from embossing.
One approach for improving the quality of rolled sanitary products dispensed from a cabinet is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,802 to Perrin, et al. Such patent teaches the crimping of the paper toweling web within the dispensing cabinet. Crimping is achieved by passing the web between a drive roll and a driven roll where each roll includes a series of axially aligned teeth extending therefrom in alternating circumferential relationship with a series of axially aligned valleys thereon. The plain or smooth paper toweling is drawn through the rolls and compressively abutted between the drive roll teeth and the driven roll teeth over the various crests of these teeth such that the plain paper toweling is foldably deformed into a crimped or serrated paper toweling web. One disadvantage of Perrin, et al. is that the effective length of the dispensed sheet is substantially decreased. Another disadvantage of Perrin is based on the well established fact that the softness and strength properties of sanitary paper are inversely related and, therefore, any bulking process that maintains the tensile strength of the dispensed sheet results in only slight improvement in sheet softness.
International publication no. W085/03029(PCT Application No. PCT/US85/00029) teaches a rolled paper embossing dispenser. There are two embossing rolls provided in such dispenser each having a plurality of knuckles projecting radially therefrom. In an alternative embodiment, there is taught an embossing roll 22 having a plurality of knuckles projecting radially therefrom used in conjunction with a roll that has a smooth, resilient surface. In both embodiments of such reference, the rolls must be operated in registration with one another. Timing gears are required.